CRIME STORY CHEAT SHEET 

“The crime story concerns our desire for justice,and by extension the very security of our social structure. Because it 
explores a primal need, feeling secure in the fundamental notions of right and wrong, it remains and will always 
remain at the top of story popularity.”​ —Shawn Coyne 
The CRIME STORY is an arch-plot (Hero's Journey) or mini-plot (multiple characters) external genre. It begins 
with a crime, builds with an investigation of the crime, and pays off with the identification of the perpetrators. It 
is resolved with the perpetrator/s being brought to justice or getting away with the crime. 
GLOBAL VALUE: Justice and Injustice 

 
CONTROLLING IDEA  CORE EMOTION 
Positive​: Justice prevails when the protagonist  Intrigue, Security 
overpowers or outwits his/her antagonist.  People choose a Crime Story to experience solving a 
Negative​: Tyranny reigns when the perpetrator  puzzle and keeping the world safe, without the risks faced 
outwits the investigator by rigging or outwitting  by the sleuth or cop. 
the system. 
OBLIGATORY SCENES  CONVENTIONS 
● An Inciting Crime. There must be victims, especially in  ● A MacGuffin: This is the villain's object of desire, what 
stories where the event is seemingly victimless (e.g.the  the villain wants. It's either conscious or subconscious. 
2008 financial crisis).  ● Investigative Red Herrings: seemingly revelatory false 
● A Speech in Praise of the Villain. The cunning or  clues that mislead the protagonist/investigator. 
brilliance of the villain must be praised by one or more  ● Making it Personal. The villain needs the Protagonist to 
characters or shown in a revelation.  get the MacGuffin and thus must manipulate them to 
● Discovering and understanding the antagonist's  lead them to success. 
MacGuffin.  ● Clock. There is a limited time for the protagonist or 
● Progressively complicated Following of the Clues   villain to act. 
● Exposure of the Criminal. This is the core event of the  ● Sub-Genre-specific conventions. Depending upon the 
crime story, the big scene every reader is waiting for.  sub-genre, other conventions and tropes are required. 
● Brought to Justice or Escapes Justice scene, which 
serves as the global resolution of the story. 
CRIME​ ​SUBGENRES 
Murder​ Mystery  Other Crime Subgenres 
● Master Detective​: ​The Murder of Roger Ackroyd  ● Organized Crime: ​Breaking Bad 
● Cozy​: ​The Cat Who Read Backwards  ● Caper: ​Ocean’s Eleven, Sexy Beast, Mad Money 
● Historical:​ ​The Name of the Rose  ● Courtroom: ​Presumed Innocent 
● Noir/Hardboiled: ​Double Indemnity  ● Newsroom: ​All the President’s Men, The Paper 
● Paranormal:​ Dead Until Dark  ● Espionage: ​Spy Who Came In From the Cold 
● Police Procedural: ​Eleven Days  ● Prison: ​The Shawshank Redemption